Iowa State Bank Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Iowa State Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,420 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,262 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.41 and a 200 day moving average of $42.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $172.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

About Verizon Communications

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).