RPG Investment Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

RPG Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 135,903 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,454 shares during the period. RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $354,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.4% in the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 11,572 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081 shares during the period. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.41 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.08 and a 200 day moving average of $41.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Profile

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).