Assetmark Inc. Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,568,002 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 353,541 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned about 0.08% of Verizon Communications worth $154,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 133,620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,782,000 after acquiring an additional 15,904 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 262,751 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,369,000 after buying an additional 25,308 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 192,479 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,329,000 after buying an additional 23,292 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.8% during the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 360,182 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,585,000 after buying an additional 121,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 8,043 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.20 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.53 and a 200-day moving average of $42.89.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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).