Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $92,445,000 after purchasing an additional 57,583 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.44.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.8 %

VZ stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.64. 35,507,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,708,174. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average of $41.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

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).