Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Raised by Saxon Interests Inc.

Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,013 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the third quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,670 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 6,248 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 164.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 58,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the third quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 24,819 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $44.10. 3,035,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,610,805. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $185.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.62 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).