Romano Brothers AND Company Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,320 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.7% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 16,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 4,797 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 86,369 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 4,506 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 7,787 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,595 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,299,000 after buying an additional 54,635 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 3.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.87 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.97 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.29. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).