Calamos Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 780,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 28,556 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $32,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 3,054 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $749,000. Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Finally, Abbrea Capital LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 28,983 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $41.21. The stock had a trading volume of 11,757,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,484,035. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.43. The stock has a market cap of $173.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).