Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.99 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.26 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.27. The stock 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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).