Independent Advisor Alliance Has $9.46 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,642 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $181.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.69 and its 200-day moving average is $42.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).