Arjuna Capital Has $2.15 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Arjuna Capital lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,365 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.76 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $171.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.92 and a 200-day moving average of $42.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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).