Global Retirement Partners LLC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Global Retirement Partners LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,001 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.63. 3,677,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,408,963. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.99 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.81 and a 200 day moving average of $41.26. The firm has a market cap of $183.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders 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 6.22%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

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).