Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,506 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $38.83 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.96. The stock has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Verizon Communications 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).