Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 21,089 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,449,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 21,089 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $63,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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. TD Cowen cut 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $169.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.34. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $40.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Verizon Communications 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.