Arizona State Retirement System Buys 12,409 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,218,844 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 12,409 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $173.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

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).