Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 219,189 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,589 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $29,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.83 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $167.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.13.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.