MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Sells 382 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,710 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.0% of MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,581,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after purchasing an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,372,000 after purchasing an additional 936,823 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $181.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.59 and a 200 day moving average of $41.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.62 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. 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 6.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted 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. TD Cowen upped 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

About Verizon Communications

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).