BTC Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,453 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 544.2% during the second quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 44.2% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. HSBC lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Citigroup raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $33.54 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.25 and a 12 month high of $42.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.70 and its 200-day moving average is $35.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $140.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 15.58%. The firm had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.20%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).