Signaturefd LLC Sells 798 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Signaturefd LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,556 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 798 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped 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. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.37%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 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).