Brighton Jones LLC Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,830 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp dropped 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $44.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.78. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-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.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. 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).