Forsta AP Fonden Buys 191,700 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,322,350 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 191,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).