Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 850,555 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 23,113 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tredje AP fonden grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 1,537,594 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $63,410,000 after buying an additional 96,465 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 212,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,750,000 after buying an additional 5,946 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 942,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,888,000 after acquiring an additional 84,973 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $348,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,212 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $185.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. 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).