Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,820 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 13,169 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.2% of Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,114,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $1,000,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, TT Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 57.6% during the first quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 45,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 16,818 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VZ opened at $40.56 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $170.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.07.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

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).