Virtue Capital Management LLC Sells 5,108 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Virtue Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,108 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $173.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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).