Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Reduced by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,217,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 293,913 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 15,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 81,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,379,000 after purchasing an additional 7,656 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 580,970 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $23,959,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp lowered 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. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

VZ stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. The company has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.53. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 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 prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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).