Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 9,100 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,579 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,100 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after buying an additional 4,152,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.09. The stock had a trading volume of 15,911,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,588,142. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $168.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Company 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).