Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,440,526 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,925 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $64,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 157,589 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 30,518 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 7,517 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 24,048 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,537 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,602,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 418,526 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $18,796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,537,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,762,088. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $185.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

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).