MQS Management LLC Buys New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 14,479 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $24,400,000 after buying an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.95. The stock had a trading volume of 23,093,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,746,398. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.75. The firm has a market cap of $185.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

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).