Advisory Alpha LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 73.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. Howland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 32,334 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 12,120 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 233.2% during the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 59,536 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 41,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 163,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,878,000 after buying an additional 5,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.23.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.42. 1,756,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,601,707. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).