Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by RPG Investment Advisory LLC

RPG Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 132,790 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 133,970 shares during the period. RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in 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 period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.50.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change 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%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” 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).