Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $6.24 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 86.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,109 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,661 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $309,551,000 after purchasing an additional 722,559 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $2,799,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.8% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.29 on Tuesday. 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 $169.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.20 and a 200-day moving average of $42.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. 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 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

About Verizon Communications

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).