Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Has $4.36 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.72 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.89. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $184.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Company 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).