LexAurum Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

LexAurum Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 120,574 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,972,000 after purchasing an additional 7,809 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $3,369,000. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $2,054,000. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,406,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

About Verizon Communications

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).