CIBC Asset Management Inc Purchases 53,103 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 881,348 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 53,103 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $39,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the third quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 71,475 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,210,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,176 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 182.7% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,476 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,356 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 116,005 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,210,000 after buying an additional 5,799 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 958,130 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $43,030,000 after buying an additional 61,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.65. 21,482,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,596,234. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.93 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

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).