Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management Takes $397,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.15. The company had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.53.

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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

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).