Probity Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Probity Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Probity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

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).