New England Asset Management Inc. Buys 520 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Cerbat Gem

New England Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.4% of New England Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

View Our Latest Research Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.20 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.02 and a 200-day moving average of $41.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.41%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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).

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