Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 104.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,724,550 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 882,308 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $71,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 177.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 172,358 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $6,418,000 after purchasing an additional 110,337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.33. 51,691,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,932,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $45.05. The company's 50-day moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.78. The company has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. 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 price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.66.

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).