Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 362,539 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 14,233 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hudock Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Camden National Bank grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,903,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.91 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 current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $172.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.24.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.31.

Verizon Communications Company 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).