Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Increased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,271,363 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,638 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $461,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.44 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.08 and a 200-day moving average of $41.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).