Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.86 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $176.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.34 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).