Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Increased by M&G Plc

M&G Plc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 769,223 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,861 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,353,817 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $686,206,000 after buying an additional 1,757,208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $40.78. 15,131,644 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,799,691. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.50. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.52%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Profile

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).