Kovack Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 892 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 19.2% in the first quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 69,122 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after buying an additional 11,151 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,654.2% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 968,677 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $40,646,000 after acquiring an additional 933,506 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 116,814 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 27,782 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 628,522 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,372,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yoder Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,653,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,298,411. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.16 and its 200 day moving average is $40.11.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

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).