Sweeney & Michel LLC Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sweeney & Michel LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,167 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,669 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.7% of Sweeney & Michel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Sweeney & Michel LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $2.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.32. The company had a trading volume of 9,829,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,376,008. The company has a market capitalization of $173.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.26 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current 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 $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 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, TD Cowen increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

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).