Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Increased by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 471,287 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,690 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $24,400,000 after acquiring an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of VZ opened at $44.89 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.95. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.04%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

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).