Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Lessened by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 671,442 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,466 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.0% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.0% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 9,301 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 3,765 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 100.0% during the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 10,615 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 142.2% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 17,234 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,119 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 43.7% during the second quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 8,911 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE VZ opened at $39.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.55. The company has a market capitalization of $167.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.43.

About Verizon Communications

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.