Diversify Wealth Management LLC Buys 36,704 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,494 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 36,704 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.86. The stock had a trading volume of 23,987,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,659,684. The company has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. 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 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $41.03 and its 200 day moving average is $41.70.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders 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 6.97%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).