Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Northwest Capital Management Inc

Northwest Capital Management Inc lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 63.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 676 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,198 shares during the quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 130,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,385,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 110,976 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,577,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 279,105 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,510,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 179,477 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,402,000 after acquiring an additional 3,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $985,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.47. The company had a trading volume of 5,826,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,914,582. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.78.

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).