SVB Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,991 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,086 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Windle Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 164,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.03. The company had a trading volume of 12,891,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,898,098. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $168.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.68.

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).