Burney Co. Has $5.19 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 96.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,767 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 61,905 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE VZ traded down $0.22 on Thursday, hitting $41.27. 17,337,191 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,341,713. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $173.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.81 and a 200 day moving average of $40.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).