GSG Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GSG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,231 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. GSG Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $354,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the first quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,744 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 38.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,027,809 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $85,087,000 after buying an additional 561,887 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 26,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 140.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,614 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 19,051 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.48 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.40 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.11 and a 200 day moving average of $41.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $170.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).