Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Cut by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,414 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,089 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $165.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

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).