3,948 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL

Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,948 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $250,312,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $45.21 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $190.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.03.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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).