Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by First International Bank & Trust

First International Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,046 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. First International Bank & Trust’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 31,672 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 21,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. InvesTrust purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,956,000. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 203,190 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,126,000 after acquiring an additional 45,790 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $38.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.81. 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 stock has a market cap of $164.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.56 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.96%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

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).