US Bancorp DE Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

US Bancorp DE lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,427,100 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 65,830 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $109,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,407,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,513,166. The firm has a market cap of $177.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.67 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).