Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 1,869 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,135 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 31,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $168.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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).