Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 28,540 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 2.2% of Buck Wealth Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 15,329 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 100,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,129,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.5% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 56,887 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 32,166 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 4,291 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.95. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).