William Allan Corp Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

William Allan Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,898 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 63,862 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 88.5% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 81,441 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,417,000 after acquiring an additional 38,237 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 668,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $28,067,000 after acquiring an additional 46,000 shares during the period. Hamilton Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $7,227,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 71.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,560 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 5,634 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.38 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.66. The company has a market cap of $186.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).