New Century Financial Group LLC Invests $537,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $45.21 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.36. 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 market capitalization of $190.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.03.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. 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 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

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).