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

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,974 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $24,400,000 after buying an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.78. 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. The firm has a market cap 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

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).