OMC Financial Services LTD Buys Shares of 18,852 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

OMC Financial Services LTD purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 18,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

VZ stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.97. 26,124,914 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,305,414. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.65 and its 200 day moving average is $40.49. The firm has a market cap of $172.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).