Connors Investor Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 288,634 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,922 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

VZ opened at $45.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.24 and its 200-day moving average is $40.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).