Vontobel Holding Ltd. Buys 562,606 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,093,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 562,606 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $138,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 39,583 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 15,970 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 391.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 25,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 20,682 shares during the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 32,983 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the period. Finally, Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117,652 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.81. 2,434,591 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,447,498. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.99 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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).