Miramar Capital LLC Purchases 88,395 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 445,625 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 88,395 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 4.7% of Miramar Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Miramar Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

VZ stock opened at $41.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.93 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.42.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company 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%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.37.

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).

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