Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 164.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 58,657 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $185.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight research 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 company 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).