Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Reduced by Penserra Capital Management LLC

Penserra Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 98.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,696 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 2,530,568 shares during the quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.37. 17,199,941 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,540,930. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The business's 50 day moving average is $42.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 6.11%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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).