Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 44.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,946 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $1,772,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after buying an additional 1,106,887 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 237,185 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,782,000 after acquiring an additional 98,644 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,571,000 after purchasing an additional 92,590 shares during the period. Finally, Marathon Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 31,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.89 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.76 and a 200-day moving average of $40.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.678 per share. 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 6.04%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.09.

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).