Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Sells 935 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 935 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, 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 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.45. 9,774,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,381,775. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a PEG 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.44.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).