Diversify Wealth Management LLC Acquires 36,704 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,494 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 36,704 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $38.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).