Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Kooman & Associates

Kooman & Associates raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,690 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,198 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.2% of Kooman & Associates’ holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Kooman & Associates’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $1,254,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 67.4% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 642,324 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,489,000 after acquiring an additional 258,683 shares in the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 297,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 30,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the second quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 1,537,594 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $63,410,000 after buying an additional 96,465 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day moving average of $40.71. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05. The company has a market cap of $185.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

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).