Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 6,350 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,350 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $173,325,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.56 on Friday, reaching $40.61. 13,372,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,707,240. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.49.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

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).