Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Raised by Old North State Wealth Management LLC

Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,978 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,550 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $46,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.8 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.36 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $45.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.36. 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 $174.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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).