Slocum Gordon & Co LLP Has $5.71 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 138,441 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,502 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 4.2% of Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 3,054 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 11,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VZ opened at $41.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.52. The stock has a market cap of $175.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

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).