Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. Has $265,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,911 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $184.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).