Socha Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Socha Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,935 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.2% of Socha Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Socha Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth 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 period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised 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 buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.23.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of VZ traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.62. 17,169,376 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,617,277. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.66 and a 200-day moving average of $40.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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 $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.39%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 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).