Bard Financial Services Inc. Has $10.75 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 268,855 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.3% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 81,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,379,000 after acquiring an additional 7,656 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 53,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,225,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 866.9% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 155,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,405,000 after acquiring an additional 139,249 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7,577.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 629,619 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,953,000 after buying an additional 621,418 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $39.76. 15,375,986 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,423,523. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.56 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $167.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.86.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).