Marshall Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.9% of Marshall Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

VZ traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,653,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,298,411. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

About Verizon Communications

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).