Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,528 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,517 shares during the quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $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 worth $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in 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 worth $24,400,000 after acquiring an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05. The company has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.79.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Seven investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

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).