4,720 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by Northside Capital Management LLC

Northside Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,720 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,058,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,416,428. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.26 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.29. The stock has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

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).