Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,851 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.20 and a 12 month high of $45.36. 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 $178.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James upped 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).