Romano Brothers AND Company Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Romano Brothers AND Company increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 127,320 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $42.87 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.97 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).