Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Boosted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,238,413 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 110,241 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $190,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during 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. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.65. 21,482,452 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,991,828. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.93 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company 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).