GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 15,076 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 15,076 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during 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. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $173,325,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.97. 26,124,914 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,305,414. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $172.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.65 and its 200-day moving average is $40.51. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

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).