Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,848,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 633,794 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $166,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $40.72 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.66. The company has a market cap of $171.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

About Verizon Communications

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).