Spring Capital Management LLC Acquires 11,744 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Spring Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,706 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,744 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 2.7% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,580,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,457,277. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.97 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.28. The company has a market cap of $176.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.48%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target 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, October 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

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).