Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,024,014 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 271,922 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $176,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE VZ opened at $40.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.94.

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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.