Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 126,044 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 126,044 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $250,312,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $273,507,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481,936 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $536,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,247 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 6,973,838 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $287,601,000 after buying an additional 1,916,951 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.65. The company had a trading volume of 21,482,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,991,828. The stock has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.93 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $43.03 and its 200-day moving average is $41.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.37.

About Verizon Communications

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).