Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,285 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 771 shares during the quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.85 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $30.99 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $184.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

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).