ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 356,702 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schubert & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 626,256 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $28,125,000 after buying an additional 4,275 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 41,719 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 120.9% in the 3rd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 35,380 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 19,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

VZ stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.99. 13,058,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,416,428. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.26 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).