Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 2,088 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,079 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $173,325,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.27. 17,337,191 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,341,713. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

About Verizon Communications

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).