Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 498,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 14,298 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the second quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 201,890 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,508,000 after buying an additional 29,660 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,549 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 64,877 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 10,631 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 23,464 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 11,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 497,668 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. 61.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $33.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.94. The company has a market capitalization of $142.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $42.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 53.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Citigroup raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).