Lazari Capital Management Inc. Sells 14,777 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,538 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,777 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.5% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $39.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,480,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,693,011. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $166.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

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).