First Horizon Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 855,043 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 40,501 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.1% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $38,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.20 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.98 and a 200 day moving average of $41.49.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).