HBW Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,714 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,819 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $92,445,000 after acquiring an additional 57,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.70. The company had a trading volume of 17,772,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,764,883. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.81. The firm has a market cap of $158.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.56 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).