Sigma Planning Corp Sells 5,939 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,939 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 23,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 16,222 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viewpoint Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $219,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.77 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $167.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).