Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised 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 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Six 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.10. The stock had a trading volume of 21,656,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,928,711. The stock has a market cap of $173.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).