World Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 128,020 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 208.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,527 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,020 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.08 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $177.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.53 and a 200-day moving average of $41.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.46.

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).