Rathbones Group PLC Has $24.38 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 591,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 27,977 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BCS Wealth Management increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.17 and its 200 day moving average is $40.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $44.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $187.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications 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).