AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $13.96 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 317,579 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 145,602 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,286,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $188,389,000 after purchasing an additional 295,132 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 73,989 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 3,933 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 19,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,668 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.43.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.55. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $167.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.