US Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 825 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

US Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,312 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. US Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

VZ stock opened at $41.17 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.40 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $173.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average of $41.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).