Becker Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 569,144 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 273,553 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.94 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.28. The company has a market cap of $168.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.31.

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).