37,655 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 37,655 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $1,691,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.22. 14,701,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,537,789. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $42.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

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).