Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 2,293 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 685,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,293 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.1% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,879 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 270.9% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VZ opened at $40.03 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.69. The company has a market cap of $168.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion for 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).