Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,685 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,711 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.57 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 3.05 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.51.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.37%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company 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).