Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,093 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,168 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 280,232 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,135,000 after acquiring an additional 25,654 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $2,046,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,268,036 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $183,108,000 after acquiring an additional 135,028 shares during the last quarter. JustInvest LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter. JustInvest LLC now owns 63,602 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,564,000 after acquiring an additional 16,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 258,556 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,487,000 after acquiring an additional 81,410 shares during the last quarter. 63.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
NYSE:VZ opened at $52.68 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.69 and a 12-month high of $59.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.11.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 19th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $32.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.24 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 29.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 7th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 48.03%.
VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.80.
In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $82,222.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 4,662 shares of company stock worth $247,645 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
Verizon Communications Profile
Verizon Communications, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies. It operates through the Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business) segments.
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