Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,459,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 206,921 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $65,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $354,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.5% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 130,883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,492,000 after acquiring an additional 8,033 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 57.0% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,210 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 97,991 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,112,000 after acquiring an additional 3,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 766,733 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $32,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

About Verizon Communications

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).