Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,530 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.7%

VZ stock opened at $40.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

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).