Gilbert & Cook Inc. Sells 764 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,193 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 764 shares during the quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $354,000. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 189,581 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, MAS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $289,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.03 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. The stock has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.93 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).