Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,403 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.81. The company has a market capitalization of $178.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective 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, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).