DRW Securities LLC Sells 23,111 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

DRW Securities LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 71.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 23,111 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VZ opened at $44.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $186.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.89 and its 200-day moving average is $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).