Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,974 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BCS Wealth Management lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the second quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).