Continuum Advisory LLC Purchases 2,213 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,925 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,213 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $309,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 124.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,454 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 23,535 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 8.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 862,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,567,000 after buying an additional 68,840 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 130,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,375,000 after buying an additional 4,109 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,266.1% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 43,661 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 40,465 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $178.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.70 and a 200-day moving average of $41.83.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

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).