Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 102,739 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,718 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,397 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,054,000 after buying an additional 10,873 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $43.10 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).