RDA Financial Network Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

RDA Financial Network reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 713 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.79. The stock had a trading volume of 8,677,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,493,963. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $184.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).