Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $354,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 101,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,278,000 after buying an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the first quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 158,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,630,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 4,832,361 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $187,931,000 after buying an additional 179,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.4% in the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.44 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.41 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).