Saxon Interests Inc. Acquires 2,911 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Saxon Interests Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,911 shares during the quarter. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $38.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.11 and its 200 day moving average is $41.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $163.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.99%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

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).