Fairscale Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 3,289 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $136,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,739,171,000 after buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after purchasing an additional 104,447 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.78. The firm has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Seven 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).