Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by RWA Wealth Partners LLC

RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 6,268 shares during the quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $168.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

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).