Banco Santander S.A. Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,131 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.27. The company had a trading volume of 17,337,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,341,713. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $173.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.81 and its 200-day moving average is $40.46.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

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).