Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,165,649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 77,708 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.08% of Verizon Communications worth $132,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $173,325,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.38. The company had a trading volume of 11,035,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,413,486. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.52. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).