Accel Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Accel Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,197 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing 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 about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.12 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.13.

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%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications 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).