Bridges Investment Management Inc. Acquires 4,731 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,731 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd 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 raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third 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. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.48 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.40 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $170.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications 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).