Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Drive Wealth Management LLC

Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,804 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 422 shares during the quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.81 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.18 and its 200-day moving average is $43.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $172.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

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).