Financial Avengers Inc. Has $3.10 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Financial Avengers Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,076 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.5% of Financial Avengers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Financial Avengers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after buying an additional 4,711,309 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $177,799,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.30 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.70 and a 200-day moving average of $41.83. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.46.

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).