SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC Sells 13,940 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 70.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,740 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,940 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after buying an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.89 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.05. 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 has a market cap of $184.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.35 and its 200 day moving average is $40.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s 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).