Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Reduced by Nexus Investment Management ULC

Nexus Investment Management ULC lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,479,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $281,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251,947 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,000. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 24,005 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 4,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 33,084 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted 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, October 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.73 and its 200-day moving average is $41.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.62 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

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 company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).