GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,545 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,957 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.08. The stock had a trading volume of 17,125,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,164,602. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.90.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

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).