My Legacy Advisors LLC Has $1.15 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

My Legacy Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,539 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,789 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 32,647 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $215,000. Community Bank of Raymore increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 6,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DLK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $1.83 on Tuesday, hitting $41.87. 25,324,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,451,967. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $176.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.26 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.00 and its 200 day moving average is $41.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).