Maia Wealth LLC Acquires New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Maia Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 7,579 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 400,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,681,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.49. The company has a market cap of $170.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

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).