Kelly Financial Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kelly Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,579 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Kelly Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 244.1% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $38.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.03 and a 200-day moving average of $41.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 during 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.97%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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).