Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,598 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.90. 725,158 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,394,275. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $184.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 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).