R Squared Ltd Has $299,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

R Squared Ltd lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 34.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,677 shares during the quarter. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the second quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after acquiring an additional 336,190 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $309,551,000 after acquiring an additional 722,559 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,799,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.8% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,416 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 39,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

VZ stock opened at $38.83 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).