Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Avaii Wealth Management LLC

Avaii Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,562 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,092 shares during the quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 919,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,587,000 after purchasing an additional 21,132 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 164.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 58,657 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Group LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 242,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,895,000 after buying an additional 11,845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.69. 3,393,063 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,406,326. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.99 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).