Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Lowered by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,296 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,805 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.5% during the second quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 16,348 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 279.4% in the 2nd quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 33,117 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 24,389 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 8,650 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 68,864 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications 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).