Advocate Group LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Advocate Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 252,157 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,554 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.9% of Advocate Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 120,574 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,972,000 after buying an additional 7,809 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.3% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,162.4% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 301,489 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,433,000 after purchasing an additional 288,163 shares during the period. Marathon Capital Management grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the second quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 31,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,571,000 after buying an additional 92,590 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.85%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

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).