CapWealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CapWealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 28,361 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.7% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,739,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after buying an additional 104,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $173.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.52. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

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).