AlphaCore Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,302 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 12,291 shares during the quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 26,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 169.5% in the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 234,409 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,532,000 after buying an additional 147,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 169,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,686,000 after acquiring an additional 37,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.22 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.53. The company has a market cap of $173.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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).