Advisory Alpha LLC Purchases 552 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management increased its position in Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 2,314 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,756,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,601,707. The stock has a market cap of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.23.

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).