Carret Asset Management LLC Has $5.19 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Carret Asset Management LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 123,794 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,772 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

VZ traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.12. 6,620,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,842,920. The stock has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

About Verizon Communications

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).