Summit Financial Strategies Inc. Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Summit Financial Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,451 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. 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 report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.78. 2,919,340 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,405,191. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $184.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).