Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Invests $113,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,685 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.15 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).