Entropy Technologies LP Invests $250,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,787 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $661,720,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.90 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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).