Luken Investment Analytics LLC Buys 312 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Luken Investment Analytics LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,726 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $64,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 8,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 88,670 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,755 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $334,000. Keystone Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the second quarter. Keystone Financial Planning Inc. now owns 236,254 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.6% in the second quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE VZ opened at $33.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $42.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $140.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $32.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Edward Jones downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. HSBC reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).