Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,857 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.94. 2,361,450 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,361,889. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.87 and its 200-day moving average is $41.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.26 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight investment 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, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications 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).