DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Buys 53,739 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 53,739 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.6% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $327,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $174.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.11 and its 200 day moving average is $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.34 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company 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).