Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 307,514 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,082 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

About Verizon Communications

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).