Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,200 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring 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 SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $354,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.4% in the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $264,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 78.3% in the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 11,572 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $209,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.00. 6,150,644 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,541,059. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.81 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Verizon Communications Company 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).