Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Creative Planning

Creative Planning grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 861,988 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 23,696 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $38,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the first 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $43.99 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $31.26 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.27. The firm has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).