Angeles Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Angeles Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,917 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,709 shares during the quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after purchasing an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $187.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $44.47.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen increased 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. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

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).