Ledyard National Bank Sells 1,747 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ledyard National Bank lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,891 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,747 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after buying an additional 4,347,416 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,062,750,000 after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,904,840,000 after buying an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.96 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $164.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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).