Stablepoint Partners LLC Has $5.01 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stablepoint Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 125,142 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,821 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after buying an additional 3,054 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 11,413 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.43 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $174.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. 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 50-day moving average of $40.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.52.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.78.

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).