Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,315 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,315 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.76 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $171.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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).