MBM Wealth Consultants LLC Has $295,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,349 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 533 shares during the quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $164.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.00 and a 200-day moving average of $41.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).