RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 184,731 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 705 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.5% of RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 18,304 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE VZ opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $185.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $45.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day moving average of $40.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

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).