Foundry Partners LLC Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 868,852 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 66,156 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.9% of Foundry Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Foundry Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.16. 18,096,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

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).