Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,238,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 110,241 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $190,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $354,000. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 189,581 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,365 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $289,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.65 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.93 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.03 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. The company has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid 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 dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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).