Inceptionr LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,923 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% during the second quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after buying an additional 336,190 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $309,551,000 after buying an additional 722,559 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.8% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,416 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,888,000 after buying an additional 39,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $172.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).