Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Summit Investment Advisors Inc.

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 121.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,562 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,469 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during 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 during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

VZ opened at $40.03 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

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).