Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Increased by Perkins Coie Trust Co

Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $95,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 261,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,842,000 after purchasing an additional 22,191 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 65,477 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,468,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Northwest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,000. Finally, RMB Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 205,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 23,203 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,379,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,602,316. The firm has a market cap of $184.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.62 and a 12 month high of $45.36. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.18.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price 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, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).