Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 338,799 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,504,000 after buying an additional 13,747 shares during the period. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.0% during the first quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 6,462 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,452,774 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $65,898,000 after acquiring an additional 10,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.69. The company has a market cap of $168.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered 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, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” 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).