5,389 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by Traveka Wealth LLC

Traveka Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,389 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

VZ traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.02. 2,495,683 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,645,986. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.15. The company has a market cap of $185.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).