Signaturefd LLC Acquires 6,006 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,562 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,006 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 123.4% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.76. 24,305,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,446,967. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.00 and its 200-day moving average is $41.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $175.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.26 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.49%. 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%.

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).