Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Corrado Advisors LLC

Corrado Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Corrado Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $166.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

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).