Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,307,008 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 12,014 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.1% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $58,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Commerce Bank lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 699,952 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,435,000 after purchasing an additional 23,730 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,790,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,999 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,156,000 after buying an additional 6,506 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,122,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,872 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.29 during mid-day 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 moving average is $42.98 and its 200-day moving average is $41.49. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week 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 has a market capitalization of $177.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.42%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 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).