High Falls Advisors Inc Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

High Falls Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $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. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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 lifted their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.89 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $188.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).