Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Lifted by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,200 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $54,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, hitting $41.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,150,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,541,059. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.81 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.03 and its 200 day moving average is $41.41. The firm has a market cap of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).