Earned Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,933 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.77 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).