CapWealth Advisors LLC Acquires 11,383 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 353,171 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,383 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.7% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.30. The company had a trading volume of 20,387,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,819,137. The company has a market capitalization of $173.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

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).