Allworth Financial LP Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Allworth Financial LP lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,978 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,730 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $174.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.34 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 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 .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).