Convergence Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Convergence Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,047 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the quarter. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 939,449 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $40,650,000 after acquiring an additional 29,382 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.1% in the second quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 67,002 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Genus Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% during the second quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 97,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,199,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the second quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 4,502,466 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $194,822,000 after buying an additional 30,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 18,035 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 2,535 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5%

VZ opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $165.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).