Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Acquires 36,821 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 12.2%, acquiring an additional 36,821 shares, bringing its total to 337,634 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Jump Financial LLC, significantly increased their stakes in Verizon during the fourth quarter, indicative of strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Verizon reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.22, beating estimates of $1.19, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, reflecting a yield of 6.1%.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 337,634 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 36,821 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in 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 during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 568.3% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 35,273 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,411,000 after buying an additional 29,995 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 26,642 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Adams Wealth Management increased its position in Verizon Communications by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Adams Wealth Management now owns 16,334 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generation Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $729,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Eleven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of VZ opened at $44.24 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $42.68 and its 200 day moving average is $42.93. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $186.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).

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