RFG Advisory LLC Has $3.91 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,214 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,631 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $1,997,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the first quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 251,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121 shares during the last quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $211,000. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 58,554 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after buying an additional 12,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 103,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,334,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $169.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.97 and its 200 day moving average is $39.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

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).