NWI Management LP Sells 100,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

NWI Management LP trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 66.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. NWI Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after buying an additional 4,152,099 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.09. The company had a trading volume of 15,911,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,588,142. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).