Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Decreased by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 932,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,324 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $38,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

VZ stock opened at $41.16 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.53.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).