Cadinha & Co. LLC Buys 336,190 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 2,916.8%, acquiring an additional 336,190 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 347,716 shares.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, marking a slight increase from the previous dividend of $0.68, with a dividend yield of 7.0%.
• Several analysts have issued mixed ratings for Verizon, with Goldman Sachs initiating coverage with a buy rating and a target price of $49.00, while BNP Paribas downgraded it to a hold rating.

Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 2.5% of Cadinha & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Cadinha & Co. LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,114,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,444 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,065 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 193.5% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 78,613 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,419,000 after acquiring an additional 51,829 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $167.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.34%.

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).

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