FCG Investment Co Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

FCG Investment Co grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 89.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $41.12. 6,653,911 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,298,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications 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).