Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 46.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,758 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,203 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,726 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 13,573 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 23.2% during the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 841,375 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,165,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.94. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $165.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).