BKM Wealth Management LLC Acquires 257 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average of $40.06. The company has a market cap of $175.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, March 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

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).