ORG Partners LLC Sells 35,942 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ORG Partners LLC decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 91.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,196 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 35,942 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.44. 8,499,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,656,582. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.42 and its 200 day moving average is $40.26. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.23.

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).