Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Lowered by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,634 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 825 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $3,038,000. Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,771,000. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 12,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,261,033 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $464,405,000 after acquiring an additional 528,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 550,953 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $22,721,000 after purchasing an additional 109,790 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.43 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $44.47. 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 50 day moving average price of $41.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 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).