InvesTrust Invests $5.96 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

InvesTrust acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 149,384 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $5,956,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.96. 22,820,763 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,830,014. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.56 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $164.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank increased 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 lifted their price objective 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, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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).