Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Buys New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 275,920 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $12,392,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.3% of Integrated Investment Consultants LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $205,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,488,172 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $336,294,000 after purchasing an additional 458,021 shares during the period. German American Bancorp Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 943,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $42,381,000 after buying an additional 74,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.57. 9,169,229 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,511,213. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average of $41.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.37.

About Verizon Communications

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).