MAS Advisors LLC Sells 783 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MAS Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 783 shares during the quarter. MAS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after buying an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after purchasing an additional 104,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. 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 target price on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Seven 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 price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VZ opened at $43.95 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.05. The stock has a market cap of $185.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 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 analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. 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).