Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Raised by Stonebrook Private Inc.

Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,344 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 19.0% in the second quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 10,306 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 134,957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.6% in the 2nd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,004 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

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).