AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 463,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.73 and a 200 day moving average of $42.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.34%.

Verizon Communications 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).