Kovack Advisors Inc. Purchases 892 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.12. 6,653,911 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,298,411. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.16 and its 200 day moving average is $40.11. The company has a market capitalization of $173.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

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).