Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Quad Cities Investment Group LLC

Quad Cities Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,164 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Verizon Communications by 544.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Steward Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 61.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $33.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.25 and a 1-year high of $42.58. The stock has a market cap of $140.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.94.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.30 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 15.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).