Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $34.87 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 793,372 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 158,649 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $34,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.53 and its 200-day moving average is $41.90. The company has a market cap of $171.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.60 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.