Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD Sells 939 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,122 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 939 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,975,000 after acquiring an additional 3,054 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,745 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 1,259 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 262.3% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 17,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 2,197 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,377,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,707,240. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $170.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

About Verizon Communications

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).