WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.21 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,381 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 177.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 172,358 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,418,000 after purchasing an additional 110,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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).