Front Row Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Front Row Advisors LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $250,312,000. Third Point LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after buying an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

VZ stock opened at $44.89 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05. The company has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.09.

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).