Baugh & Associates LLC Acquires 5,651 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Baugh & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,651 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.6% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 15,987 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 4,014 shares during the period. True Link Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 47,643 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $434,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of VZ opened at $38.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.03 and its 200-day moving average is $41.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).