OmniStar Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,830 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.7% of OmniStar Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. OmniStar Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of VZ opened at $41.03 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.53 and its 200 day moving average is $42.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $173.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

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).