Nelson Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nelson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 35,602 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,952 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 26,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $184.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.05 and its 200-day moving average is $40.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

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).