Weaver Consulting Group Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Weaver Consulting Group raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,948 shares during the quarter. Weaver Consulting Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.24. The stock had a trading volume of 27,639,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,795,164. The company has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

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).