Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Lifted by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,579,597 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,251 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $68,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.97.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).