Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,139,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,008,499 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $665,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,699,000. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of VZ opened at $44.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $187.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.09.

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).