Arkos Global Advisors Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Arkos Global Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,184 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 993 shares during the quarter. Arkos Global Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $45.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.04%. 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).