ZRC Wealth Management LLC Sells 382 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ZRC Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $63,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).