Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 352,103 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $13,274,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,625,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,396,167,000 after purchasing an additional 930,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after buying an additional 4,527,387 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,621,839 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,446,194,000 after buying an additional 2,015,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after buying an additional 4,134,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.74. 10,419,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,358,114. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.49. The company has a market capitalization of $167.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.36.

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).