Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Lowers Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 527,950 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 42,810 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $21,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first 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 worth approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. 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 company has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.53.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

About Verizon Communications

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).