Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $459.40 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,948,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 56,242 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Verizon Communications worth $459,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 61,691 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,729 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 15,934 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 44,379 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 16,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.11. 1,009,038 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,798,734. The stock has a market cap of $173.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.09. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).