Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Acquires 117,633 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 481,905 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 117,633 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $21,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd 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 period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $10.60 and a one year high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.47.

About Verizon Communications

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.