Regal Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 10,745 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,010 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,745 shares during the quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth 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 period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $250,312,000. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.89 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.95. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment 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, the company presently 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).