Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $402,000. Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $650,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares during the period. Finally, U S Wealth Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,175,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

VZ opened at $42.96 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.35.

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).