Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,130 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 770 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in 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 worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 419.8% in 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 worth $193,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $39.03. The stock had a trading volume of 16,441,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,864,543. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.44. The company has a market cap of $164.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.82%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).