Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by BCGM Wealth Management LLC

BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,762 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the period. BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.65 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.93 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).