Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,234 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.93 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications 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).