Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $1.79 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,873 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,490 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.29. The firm has a market cap of $174.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.34 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).