Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.7%, acquiring an additional 67,190 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 840,498 shares valued at $38.1 million.
• Verizon's recent earnings report showed $1.22 earnings per share and $34.5 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations and indicating a 5.2% growth year-over-year.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share yields roughly 6.1%, with a payout ratio currently at 63.17%.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 840,498 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 67,190 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $38,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 16,826 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Oder Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Oder Investment Management LLC now owns 16,611 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 83,637 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 9,335 shares in the last quarter. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 337,634 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,315,000 after acquiring an additional 36,821 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment 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, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $42.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 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).

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