Providence Capital Advisors LLC Has $3.23 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,212 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 80,287 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,311,000 after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Verizon Communications by 18.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $536,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,247 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.0% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 23,122 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.5% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 162,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,698,000 after purchasing an additional 69,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,334,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $44.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.82. The stock has a market cap of $186.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. 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 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen boosted 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. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.91.

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).