Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $67.86 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,568,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,920 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $67,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 5,654 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the second quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 25,351 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $230,000. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.1% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,704 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 79.4% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 3,317 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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).