Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Private Wealth Partners LLC

Private Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,194 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BCS Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $43.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.82. The company has a market cap of $184.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

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).