FCG Investment Co Has $1.02 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

FCG Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 89.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the quarter. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $41.12. 6,653,911 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,298,411. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.12. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 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).