Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 24,747 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 558,260 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 24,747 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,062,750,000 after buying an additional 431,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,904,840,000 after buying an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $38.83 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).