Spirepoint Private Client LLC Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,325 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $130,000. West Coast Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,019,000 after buying an additional 9,971 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 14,147 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 6,446 shares during the period. Finally, CIC Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 8,709 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 1,963 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.62. The stock had a trading volume of 17,608,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,832,428. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.44. 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 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.23.

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).