Verity & Verity LLC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,069 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.21 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

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).