Vest Financial LLC Has $3.36 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,799 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 9,331 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.26 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.27. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight 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.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Company 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).