Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Bfsg LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Bfsg LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on VZ

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.90 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.99 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Verizon Communications Profile

(Free Report)

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).

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