Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 124,633 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,133 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.93 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).