Chris Bulman Inc Purchases New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,388 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake 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 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.15 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.93 and its 200 day moving average is $40.52. The stock has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

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).