Aspiriant LLC Acquires 253 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aspiriant LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,677 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 24,005 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 4,230 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,862 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 93,214 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $360,000. Finally, Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 7,588 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.26 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

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).