Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 457,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 14,518 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Edge Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $45.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.02%. 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 (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

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).