Invst LLC Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Invst LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,710 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 709 shares during the period. Invst LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Evoke Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 26,331 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 548,527 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $20,679,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.89 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05. The company has a market cap of $188.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Company 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).