Marcum Wealth LLC Sells 2,306 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Marcum Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,306 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.13 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $185.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.18. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $45.36. 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 data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on 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 initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. Eight 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 $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).