Bridges Investment Management Inc. Buys 20,164 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 53,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,164 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 177.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 172,358 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,418,000 after buying an additional 110,337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $44.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).