Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,726 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.0% of Keynote Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.
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Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 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% during the fourth 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 during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,353,817 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $686,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757,208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.68.
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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on VZ
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.97. 26,124,914 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,305,414. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $172.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.50.
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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.
About Verizon Communications
(Free Report)
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).
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