Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Summit Financial Strategies Inc.

Summit Financial Strategies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,451 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Summit Financial Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $250,312,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $273,507,000 after acquiring an additional 3,481,936 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Verizon Communications by 18.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $536,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 37.9% in the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 6,973,838 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $287,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Verizon Communications by 153.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,806,221 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $115,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,919,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,405,191. The company has a market cap of $184.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.26. 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 fifty-two week low of $30.99 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

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).