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

Czech National Bank grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 857,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,411 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $38,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $187.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).