MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Purchases 553 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third 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. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.54.

Read Our Latest Research Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $38.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.17 and its 200-day moving average is $41.76. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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).

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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