Aspiriant LLC Sells 889 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aspiriant LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 889 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $171.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

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).