Forza Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,119 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,204 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

VZ stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.04. 11,968,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,580,605. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $41.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.80. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

About Verizon Communications

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).