Salomon & Ludwin LLC Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Salomon & Ludwin LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,570 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,991 shares during the quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,975,000 after acquiring an additional 3,054 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $287,000. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $368,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 169,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $41.35. 5,188,910 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,403,039. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

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).