Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Has $399,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,516 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,449 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 29,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 10,253 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 28,763 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Armor Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,671 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $40.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,086,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,871,701. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $168.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.68.

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).