Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Buys 2,546 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,923 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.6% of Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the third quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 178,415 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,706,000 after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares during the last quarter. Bensler LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 46,063 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,401 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 21,345 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.55 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.40 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. 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. 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 report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).