Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 2.1% of Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $250,312,000. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 419.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.09.

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).