MCF Advisors LLC Purchases 491 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $173.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).