Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Has $28.97 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 645,058 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 99,654 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.3% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.87 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 4.03 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Eight 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 stock 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).