Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Eagle Ridge Investment Management

Eagle Ridge Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 651,017 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 7,637 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 2.6% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 102,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 973,547 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $40,149,000 after buying an additional 53,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,237,000 after buying an additional 58,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.86 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.34 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $176.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.29. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).