Advocate Group LLC Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Advocate Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,157 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,554 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.9% of Advocate Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 120,574 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 7,809 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.3% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,162.4% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 301,489 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $12,433,000 after purchasing an additional 288,163 shares in the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the second quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 31,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,571,000 after buying an additional 92,590 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.61. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

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).