Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Sfmg LLC

Sfmg LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,860 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $173.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).