Umpqua Bank Has $2.23 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.9% of Umpqua Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.93 and its 200 day moving average is $40.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

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).