Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,579 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 15,489 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,469,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,843,180. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.06. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

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).