Americana Partners LLC Has $16.32 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Americana Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 377,224 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,374 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.03 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.86 and a 200-day moving average of $42.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $168.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).