Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Holdings Boosted by Wealth Quarterback LLC

Wealth Quarterback LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.72 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.66. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $171.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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).