Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Carrera Capital Advisors

Carrera Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1,683.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 126,636 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 119,536 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.1% of Carrera Capital Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Carrera Capital Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $38.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.96.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

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).