Burney Co. Buys 3,008 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,862 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,124,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,305,414. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.49. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $172.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.68.

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).