Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Takes $726,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,168 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $42.08. 11,210,888 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,359,039. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $177.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $42.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank boosted 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 note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial upped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.46.

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).