Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Aviso Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.1%, owning a total of 62,295 shares valued at approximately $2.83 million.
• Verizon's stock opened at $44.24 and has a market cap of $186.53 billion, with a PE ratio of 10.31.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.19 and showing a 5.2% revenue increase year-over-year.

Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,295 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 9,525 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.68 and a 200 day moving average of $42.98.

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 (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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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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