Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $188.39 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,286,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 295,132 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.6% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $188,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.93.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.58. The firm has a market cap of $167.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm 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 company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Verizon Communications Company 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.