Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,745 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,027 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.9% of Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,581,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,887 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after acquiring an additional 104,447 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $541,372,000 after acquiring an additional 936,823 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, 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 quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.81 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).