CRA Financial Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CRA Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,938 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 25.0% during the first quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 18,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.8% during the first quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 21,743 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 250,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,510,000 after purchasing an additional 12,651 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.6% during the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 110,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 7,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 32,526 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.42 on Friday, reaching $41.24. The company had a trading volume of 27,639,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,795,164. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average of $40.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.77.

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).