Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 457 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,319 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,434,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.92. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued 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 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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).