Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Has $23.95 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,375 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.8% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after acquiring an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,372,000 after acquiring an additional 936,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.06. 395,699 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,501,301. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.02 and a 200 day moving average of $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.93 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.99 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).