Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,769 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,663 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.40 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).