Rehmann Capital Advisory Group Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,869 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.01. The company has a market capitalization of $168.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).