Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC Has $596,000 Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,268 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 0.5% of Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Patten Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 21,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 35,538 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,213,320 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $54,490,000 after acquiring an additional 15,994 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 18,013 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,670 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.13 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.18. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.62 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).