Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,973,874 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,208 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $174,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $2,504,150,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in 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 in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $113,004,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.53 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.63. The firm has a market cap of $166.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results 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 for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.07.

Verizon Communications 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.