Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 97,840 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake 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 during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at 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 boosted 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.22 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.54. The company has a market cap of $173.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently 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).