Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Successful Portfolios LLC

Successful Portfolios LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,844 shares during the quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE VZ opened at $41.24 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.06. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

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).