CNB Bank Acquires 509 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

CNB Bank boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,552 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,700,279,000 after buying an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,904,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.96. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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 issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).