Invenomic Capital Management LP Sells 285,803 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Invenomic Capital Management LP cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 42.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 393,694 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 285,803 shares during the quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in 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 worth $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.04. The company had a trading volume of 16,086,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,871,701. The company has a market capitalization of $168.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly 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 research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).