Viewpoint Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Viewpoint Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,804 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 502 shares during the quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.24. 27,639,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,795,164. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average of $40.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 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).