Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,538,098 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,121 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $66,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $172.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

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).