Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4,793.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,803 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 318,166 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 301.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,434,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE VZ opened at $38.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.97.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).