Wrapmanager Inc. Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wrapmanager Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 149,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,700,000 after purchasing an additional 33,900 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 286,461 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,865,000 after buying an additional 4,381 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 539.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 150,825 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,774,000 after buying an additional 127,256 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 18,921 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 125,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after buying an additional 6,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.29 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $36.20 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47. The firm has a market cap of $178.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 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).