Leelyn Smith LLC Acquires 421 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,789 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 421 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 51,791 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.8% during the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 5,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $249,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of VZ opened at $38.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.96.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).