Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,367 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.3% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 51,791 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 50.8% in the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 5,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.96. The stock has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

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).