Strong Tower Advisory Services Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,110 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,323 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.0% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.39. 1,267,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,742,010. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.96.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).