Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Orca Investment Management LLC

Orca Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,876 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.9% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the third quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 21,922 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 94,974 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.1% during the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.5% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,302 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the third quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 679,370 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $181.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.22. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.62 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

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).