Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 21,037 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 149.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,126 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 21,037 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

VZ stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.65. 21,482,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,596,234. The firm has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.93 and a 1-year 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. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).