5,071 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,071 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. 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.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,729,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,347,732. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.78 and a 200 day moving average of $40.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).