Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC has invested approximately $356,000 by purchasing 7,858 shares of Verizon Communications Inc. in the first quarter.
• Verizon Communications recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, yielding an annualized dividend of 6.3%.
• The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $34.50 billion.

Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,858 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.94. 15,537,636 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,860,102. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued 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 6.3%. 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).