Czech National Bank Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 912,730 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,206 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $36,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 168.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 20,467 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 12,852 shares during the period. Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,771,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $3,038,000. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 23.7% during the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 18,454 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.0% during the second quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $37.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $159.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.56 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

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).