Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Avalon Trust Co

Avalon Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 75.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,960 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Hudock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE VZ opened at $40.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $172.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

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).