Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $67.86 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,568,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,920 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $67,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.60. The stock has a market cap of $172.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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).