Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Decreased by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,704 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 62,203 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 31,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,812 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).