Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Forbes J M & Co. LLP

Forbes J M & Co. LLP trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,890 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,982 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 108,117 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,571,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 7,588 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 42,734 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,806,000 after buying an additional 22,083 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 84.9% in the 1st quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 21,254 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 9,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $360,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock remained flat at $40.24 during trading on Friday. 30,390,207 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,665,822. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.93. The stock has a market cap of $169.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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).