Nexus Investment Management ULC Acquires 1,700 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Certified Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 9,527 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the first quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 19,960 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 38,995 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,517,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,193 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 61.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $33.79 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.25 and a 12-month high of $42.58. The stock has a market cap of $142.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.74 and a 200-day moving average of $36.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 15.58%. The company had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.87%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. HSBC decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).