Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Lifted by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 378.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,151 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Hudock Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank increased its position in 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 buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.22 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $169.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.