Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 293,913 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,217,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 293,913 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired 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 during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.15. The company had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.53.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen lifted 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications 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).