PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,677,028 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 110,953 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $245,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.2%

VZ stock opened at $40.72 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $171.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.66.

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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).