Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ is Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,281,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 29,034 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.0% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $55,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.29 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $169.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.50.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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).