Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 208.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,527 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 128,020 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,009 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,581,848,000 after buying an additional 1,106,887 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after acquiring an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,500,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,304,342. The stock has a market cap of $177.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.14 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.53 and a 200 day moving average of $41.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company 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 firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.46.

Verizon Communications 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).