Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Has $436,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,617 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,771 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $19,248,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Verizon Communications by 225.3% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 265,659 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,050,000 after buying an additional 183,996 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 60,333 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

VZ stock opened at $42.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $178.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.71 and a 200-day moving average of $42.75.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Company 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).