Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Plan Group Financial LLC

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.8% during the first quarter, now owning 40,703 shares valued at approximately $1.85 million.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Verizon, with consensus ratings for the stock being a "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $47.35.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 6.3% and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Plan Group Financial LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 50.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,703 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,711 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wills Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $2,852,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4.0% during the first quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 9,100 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the first quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 21,544 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE VZ traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.35. The stock had a trading volume of 17,800,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,145,494. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm 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 business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

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).