Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 16,465 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 348,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,465 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,353,817 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $686,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757,208 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $40.04. 17,342,245 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,741,121. The stock has a market cap of $168.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.49. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).