Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC significantly increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 171.0%, owning 122,352 shares valued at approximately $5.55 million post-purchase.
• Verizon's stock currently has an average target price of $47.35, with several analysts issuing ratings ranging from "hold" to "strong buy."
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.22, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 5.2% year-over-year, amounting to $34.5 billion.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 171.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,352 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 77,207 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings 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 grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during 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 position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.35. 17,800,801 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,145,494. The company has a market cap of $178.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.75. 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.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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