Carret Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Carret Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,794 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,772 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management increased its position in Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,620,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,842,920. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.11. The firm has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

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).