New Century Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 13,024 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.21 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.03. The company has a market cap of $190.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week 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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business 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 business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Company 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).