Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,020 shares during the quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. 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 note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

VZ stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.15. The stock had a trading volume of 18,100,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,511,424. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).