SVB Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SVB Wealth LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 91,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,785 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 10,077 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of VZ opened at $41.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Profile

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).