Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Berry Wealth Group LP

Berry Wealth Group LP boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 50,381 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,249 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.6% of Berry Wealth Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Berry Wealth Group LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 12,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $113,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 57,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.21 on Monday, reaching $43.78. 7,471,601 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,362,529. The stock has a market cap of $184.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.26 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.31.

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).