Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Bill Few Associates Inc.

Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.5% of Bill Few Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.3 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).