Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.94. 2,389,998 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,363,631. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $184.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.26 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications 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).