Foundry Partners LLC Has $35.83 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 868,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,156 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.9% of Foundry Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

VZ stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,414,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,420,260. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.52. The stock has a market cap of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).