Foster Group Inc. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Foster Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,625,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,396,167,000 after buying an additional 930,367 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,882,164,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,621,839 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,446,194,000 after buying an additional 2,015,139 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.96 and a 200-day moving average of $39.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $169.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

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).