CreativeOne Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 26.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,079 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 37,994 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $44.37 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).