Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,690 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,272 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares in the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $749,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 59,620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after buying an additional 4,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 23,696 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. TD Cowen raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,009,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,351,631. The company has a market capitalization of $175.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.48.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.37%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).