Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Buys 3,272 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 191,537 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,106,887 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 535,322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after buying an additional 104,447 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $541,372,000 after buying an additional 936,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.18. The company had a trading volume of 14,537,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,762,088. The stock has a market cap of $185.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders 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 represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Eight 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, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

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).