Janney Capital Management LLC Purchases 8,817 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Janney Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 325,773 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,817 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $41.27. The company had a trading volume of 17,552,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,519,950. The firm has a market cap of $173.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.15.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

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).