CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Has $502,000 Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,171 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.90 and a 200-day moving average of $41.53. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).