Boston Research & Management Inc. Purchases 1,345 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Boston Research & Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,241 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, BCS Wealth Management raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.46 and a 200 day moving average of $40.78. The firm has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

About Verizon Communications

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).