Bleakley Financial Group LLC Acquires 10,309 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 117,308 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,309 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.4%

VZ opened at $38.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).