HF Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 60,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,938 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.3% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.26 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.40 and a one year high of $45.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $173.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.57%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

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).