Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.
Get Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %
Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.29. The company has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.26 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.
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).
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