DRW Securities LLC Invests $1.33 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 32,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,334,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,739,171,000 after buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,466,446,000 after purchasing an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted 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 purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after purchasing an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.33 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.79. The company has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upped 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

Get Our Latest Research Report on VZ

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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).

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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