Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Raised by Baugh & Associates LLC

Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,651 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 2.6% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 15,987 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 4,014 shares during the period. True Link Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 47,643 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,905,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares during the period. Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.86 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS 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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).