Sweeney & Michel LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sweeney & Michel LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,167 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,669 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.7% of Sweeney & Michel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Sweeney & Michel LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 32,647 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Community Bank of Raymore increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 6,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DLK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of VZ stock traded down $2.38 on Tuesday, reaching $41.32. 9,829,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,376,008. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.26 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $173.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. 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. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.31.

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).