TD Asset Management Inc Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,556,163 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 86,816 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.11% of Verizon Communications worth $187,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.93 and a 200 day moving average of $40.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).