Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,017 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,757,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,484,035. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.43. The company has a market cap of $173.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. 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 quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. 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).