Opal Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 2,209 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. 626 Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $222,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the third quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 4,949 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the third quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 34,410 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 177,351 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after acquiring an additional 6,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the third quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 73,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $43.90 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).