Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 4.9%, acquiring 291,543 shares and bringing its total ownership to over 6.1 million shares valued at approximately $280,644,000.
• Verizon reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.03, and a total revenue of $34.50 billion, representing a growth of 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.71 and a dividend yield of 6.3%.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,187,043 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 291,543 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Verizon Communications worth $280,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 50,414 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 18,452 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 228,684 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,215 shares in the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 147,052 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 24,472 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $43.25. 12,466,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,171,326. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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).