Lanham O Dell & Company Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,638 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lanham O Dell & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.1% of Lanham O Dell & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.51 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $31.26 and a one year high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

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).