Simplicity Wealth LLC Has $1.32 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Simplicity Wealth LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,454 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 94,712 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,887 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after purchasing an additional 535,322 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after purchasing an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,372,000 after buying an additional 936,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.59 and its 200 day moving average is $41.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.62 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.31%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).