Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Sells 3,775 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 44.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,650 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,775 shares during the period. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,353,817 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $686,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757,208 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised 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, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.97. 26,124,914 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,305,414. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.50. The company has a market cap of $172.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).