3,611 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Scarborough Advisors LLC

Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $136,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $333,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $1,219,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $368,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $39.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.98 and a 200 day moving average of $39.89. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

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).