Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC Buys 17,855 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 10,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the third quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 14,529 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 13,627 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.1% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,140 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.99. 13,058,370 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,416,428. The company has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.94 and a 200-day moving average of $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.26 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight 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 target price of $46.31.

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).