Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases 7,946 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.6%, purchasing an additional 7,946 shares to own a total of 62,189 shares, valued at about $2.82 million.
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.19, alongside revenue of $34.50 billion, a 5.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, representing an annualized yield of 6.3%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,189 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $69,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,241,823 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $56,329,000 after purchasing an additional 152,147 shares during the period. Lcnb Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.7% during the first quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 12,503 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1,028.5% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,028,345 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $46,646,000 after purchasing an additional 937,220 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $11,882,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE VZ traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,052,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,669,312. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.83. The stock has a market cap of $181.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).