Centaurus Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Centaurus Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,861 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 889 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $354,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 57.0% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,210 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 59.8% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 37,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 14,012 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $860,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,453,075 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $144,875,000 after buying an additional 1,080,244 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

VZ opened at $43.15 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.90 and its 200-day moving average is $41.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).