Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $2.20 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,164 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after purchasing an additional 428,776 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.46 and its 200-day moving average is $40.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

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).