Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Lowered by Advisor Resource Council

Advisor Resource Council lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 68.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,761 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,856 shares during the quarter. Advisor Resource Council’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.12. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

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).