Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,772 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,090 shares during the period. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,193 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the first quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 15,743 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 13,763 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 61.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

VZ traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $36.58. 6,014,449 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,056,783. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $42.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 21.26% and a net margin of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 6th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.63%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).