Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,296 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,805 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 31,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the first quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,812 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $168.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.01.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).