Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 994,036 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,901,677 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 994,036 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.0% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $220,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.15 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.20 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.03 and a 200 day moving average of $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $177.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.43%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).