Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 68,840 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 862,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 68,840 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 800,595 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 11,805 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Verizon Communications by 124.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,454 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 23,535 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $309,000. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the second quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 973,547 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $40,149,000 after buying an additional 53,929 shares during the period. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 128.0% during the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 49,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after buying an additional 27,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $40.90. The company had a trading volume of 3,431,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,701,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.49.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).