Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 270,613 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 827,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 270,613 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.6% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.65. 919,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,518,701. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.81 and a one year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).