Winebrenner Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,180 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Winebrenner Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $166.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.62 and its 200 day moving average is $42.92. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Verizon Communications 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).