Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 393,587 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,477,034 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 393,587 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.08% of Verizon Communications worth $143,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.8% during the 4th 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 stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 177.9% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.33. 52,671,859 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,932,660. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $45.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.66.

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).