Members Trust Co Acquires 721 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Members Trust Co increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 721 shares during the quarter. Members Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.3%

VZ stock opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $169.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).