First PREMIER Bank Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First PREMIER Bank cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,731 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,262,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $85,295,000 after buying an additional 56,123 shares during the period. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 919,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,587,000 after buying an additional 21,132 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. 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 note on Friday, September 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $184.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.62 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.18.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).