Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 28,784 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Simplicity Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 30.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,847 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 28,784 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $281,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,689 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.24 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.44 and a 200 day moving average of $41.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.