BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $66.26 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 37.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,606,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 436,574 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $66,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after buying an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Windle Wealth LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 164,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $433,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.79 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

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).