Doheny Asset Management CA Buys New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,394 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.76 and a 200 day moving average of $40.95. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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. The company 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased 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. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.09.

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).