Chiron Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 46,892 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 46,892 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $2,106,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.3% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,592 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.4% in the second quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,108 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 348,563 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,375,000 after purchasing an additional 16,465 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 98,369 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,057,000 after purchasing an additional 8,967 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on 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 upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.46.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.39 on Wednesday, hitting $41.91. 6,257,719 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,355,068. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.85. The company has a market cap of $176.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).