Candriam S.C.A. Has $18.29 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 422,583 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,174 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,488,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $158,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,659 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.4% in the first quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 6,306 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,862 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.2% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 36,880 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $173.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).