Penserra Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Penserra Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 98.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position 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 during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.9 %

VZ opened at $43.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $185.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 note on Monday, September 23rd. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company 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).