Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 5,926 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 378,210 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,926 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, BCS Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05. The company has a market cap of $185.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

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).