Axiom Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Axiom Advisory LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,461 shares during the quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $185.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.15. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.62 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

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).