Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,273,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 578,333 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.05% of Verizon Communications worth $102,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.41. The company has a market cap of $170.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).