EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,077 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,517 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.91.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.26 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).