Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $28.81 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 720,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,885 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.6% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.51 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

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).