Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,721 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,128 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $174.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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).