Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 495 shares during the quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $41.73. 16,406,826 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,906,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.06. 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 $175.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.37%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).