Heartland Bank & Trust Co Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,660 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 99,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,099,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $457,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 112,486 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,639,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.6% during the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,763 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $189.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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).