TruWealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

TruWealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,330 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.09. 11,772,257 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,704,834. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.49. The company has a market cap of $168.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).