Boston Common Asset Management LLC Acquires 17,874 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,045 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 17,874 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.6 %

VZ opened at $42.96 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $180.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

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).