Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Buys 415 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,825,000 after buying an additional 4,152,099 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.12. The company had a trading volume of 6,653,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,298,411. The firm has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.12.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

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).