Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Elevated Capital Advisors LLC

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.51 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $31.26 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $174.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.31.

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).