AIFG Consultants Ltd. Has $298,000 Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AIFG Consultants Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. AIFG Consultants Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.5% during the third quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 37,857 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,700,000 after buying an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the third quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the third quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 170,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,637,000 after buying an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $4,133,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.8% in the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 28,979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

VZ traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,739,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,349,072. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.26 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

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).