Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 5,884 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 57.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,210 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.11. 1,583,282 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,776,580. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.68.

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).