First City Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,655 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First City Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,987 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,655 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.0% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.78.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).