Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,644 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,235 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.7% of Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $45.05. The stock has a market cap of $185.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

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).