Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 114,739 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,144,385 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 114,739 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.6% of Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Verizon Communications worth $88,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $173,325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5 %

VZ traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $40.80. The stock had a trading volume of 5,307,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,623,025. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $171.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.52%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Verizon Communications 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).