EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Purchases 6,604 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,464 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 6,604 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Main Street Group LTD grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 9,348 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 30.2% during the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 983,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $40,541,000 after buying an additional 228,116 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 15,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 81,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,379,000 after acquiring an additional 7,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $41.15. The company had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.53. The company has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).