Viking Fund Management LLC Has $6.78 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,600 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.2% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,381 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 76,336 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,240,000 after buying an additional 11,371 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 65,132 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,733,000 after buying an additional 5,812 shares in the last quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 15,409 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cairn Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 42,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,772,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $40.78. 7,917,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,805,496. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.99. 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 fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.52%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

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).