Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 634 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,640 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 634 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. 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. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $45.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.03. 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 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business 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 business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. This is an increase 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%.

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).