Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,041 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.1% of Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 69,514 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after acquiring an additional 4,420 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 5,451 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 97,938 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 18,401 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 55,886 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after buying an additional 9,005 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.69. 3,444,011 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,407,801. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 1 year low of $30.99 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Company 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).