Impax Asset Management Group plc Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,043 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Hudock Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 641,593 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,762,000 after purchasing an additional 28,199 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 77,691 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 93.2% in the second quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 44,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 21,683 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.10 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.63. The company has a market cap of $173.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on 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. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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).