Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,846 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 525 shares during the quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of VZ opened at $43.00 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.22. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.63%.

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).