NWF Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

NWF Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 468.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,657 shares during the quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $172.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $33.82 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%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

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).