Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Purchases 3,872 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 2.0% of Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hudock Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.76 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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).