Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.

Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,650 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,404 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 2.9% of Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Edge Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $189.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.06. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

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).