Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,779 shares during the quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,639,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,795,164. The company has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.07 and its 200-day moving average is $40.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six 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.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

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).