Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,720 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,389 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $0.46 on Tuesday, reaching $40.26. The company had a trading volume of 18,100,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,001,678. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.65 and a 200-day moving average of $40.52. The company has a market capitalization of $169.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

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).