Hancock Whitney Corp Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,582 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,475 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BCS Wealth Management boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the second quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $45.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.78.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. 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. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).