Certuity LLC Purchases 345 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Certuity LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 220,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7,577.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 629,619 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,953,000 after purchasing an additional 621,418 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $98,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 866.9% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 155,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,405,000 after purchasing an additional 139,249 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 53,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

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).