Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Boosted by LexAurum Advisors LLC

LexAurum Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,797 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,581,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,466,446,000 after buying an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after buying an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $541,372,000 after buying an additional 936,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.85 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.87 and its 200-day moving average is $41.28. 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 $184.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.99 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).