Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Markets Daily

Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,567 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $648,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $666,000. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% in the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 151,931 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,823,000 after purchasing an additional 7,954 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 750,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,683,000 after purchasing an additional 81,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 155.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 1,274 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of VZ opened at $40.48 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.40 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Read Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications

About Verizon Communications

(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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