Hardin Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,184 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 92,053 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778 shares during the period. RS Crum Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. RS Crum Inc. now owns 11,283 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 529,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,842,000 after acquiring an additional 27,164 shares in the last quarter. Sykon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.6% during the second quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,037 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $184.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

About Verizon Communications

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).