Exeter Financial LLC Has $3.71 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Exeter Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,578 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.6% of Exeter Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,465,922 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $55,265,000 after buying an additional 76,739 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $5,223,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 261,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,842,000 after purchasing an additional 22,191 shares during the period. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $566,000. Finally, Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 186,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.87 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.13. The company has a market capitalization of $184.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Verizon Communications 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).