Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 907,796 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 231,056 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.70 and a 200 day moving average of $42.77. The firm has a market cap 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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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