CMG Global Holdings LLC Cuts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

CMG Global Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,747 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,705 shares during the period. CMG Global Holdings LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FLC Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 19,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 65,308 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 295,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $12,801,000 after buying an additional 5,188 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 147,820 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,396,000 after buying an additional 13,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.07.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold 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 $47.63.

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).