The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,499,376 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 42,364 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.11% of Verizon Communications worth $185,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.05. 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 company has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).