Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,281 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.7% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.07 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.40 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.60%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).