Fermata Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,129 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.08 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.98.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).