Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Sienna Gestion

Sienna Gestion grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,645 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,312,000. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

VZ opened at $43.89 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).