Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Has $266,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.6% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 13,199 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the third quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 21,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 35,538 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,213,320 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $54,490,000 after purchasing an additional 15,994 shares during the period. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 18,013 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of VZ opened at $44.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $45.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications 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).