Petix & Botte Co Takes $257,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Petix & Botte Co acquired a new position in Verizon Communications, buying 5,656 shares valued at approximately $257,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Verizon reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.22, exceeding expectations of $1.19, alongside revenue of $34.50 billion, up 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, reflecting a yield of 6.1%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Petix & Botte Co bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,656 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $42.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.98. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

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 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

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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