AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 3,199 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 463,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,726 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 13,573 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.2% during the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 841,375 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,165,000 after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.25 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $165.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).