Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 55.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,321 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 31,664 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew 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 valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BCS Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the second quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05. The stock has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).