Prospect Financial Services LLC Takes $4.99 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 132,412 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $4,992,000. Verizon Communications accounts for about 5.0% of Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. 10,478,723 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,766,416. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $167.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.85. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.77.

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).