Point72 Europe London LLP Takes $2.05 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 49,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.86. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05. The firm has a market cap of $187.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, 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 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.16.

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).