Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 145,649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,808 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 3.3% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 12,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $113,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 57,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.69. The stock had a trading volume of 8,724,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,368,703. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.26 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

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).