Novare Capital Management LLC Has $17.60 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Novare Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 440,088 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 8,292 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.5% of Novare Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

About Verizon Communications

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).