Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 52,807 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 952,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,807 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $38.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.97. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

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).