Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,955,603 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $132,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 74,823 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,140,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Burney Co. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 63,862 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.1% in the first quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 6,988 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Finally, Invst LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $906,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $186.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.