Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,296 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,606 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.36.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of VZ traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.54. 2,884,267 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,103,668. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.32 and a 200-day moving average of $39.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).