Cullinan Associates Inc. Buys 8,150 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,550 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,150 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,595 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,299,000 after buying an additional 54,635 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $338,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $269,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 43.8% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 54,494 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 16,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 55,259 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.02. 1,125,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,518,160. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $176.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.34 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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).