Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by First PREMIER Bank

First PREMIER Bank decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,082 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 348,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,375,000 after purchasing an additional 16,465 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 9,185 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the second quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 24,470 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.04. The company had a trading volume of 17,342,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,741,121. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $168.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.63 and its 200 day moving average is $40.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.64%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Verizon Communications 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).