Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,057,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 589,994 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $47,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $41.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.03 and a 200-day moving average of $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.81 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).