Morton Community Bank Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Morton Community Bank boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 77,415 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.15. The stock had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. The firm has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).