Altrius Capital Management Inc Purchases 2,852 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,852 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,022,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,513,135. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.93 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $172.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.62%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).