Dudley Capital Management LLC Has $1.32 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Dudley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 27.7% during the second quarter, totaling $1.32 million in holdings.
• Several analysts have adjusted price targets for Verizon, with Bank of America raising their target from $45.00 to $49.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, while others provided a mix of ratings and targets.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, with $0.69 per share to be paid on November 3rd, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.9%.

Dudley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 27.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,451 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,600 shares during the quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $169.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.12 and a 200-day moving average of $43.04. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

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).

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