Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 389,498 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 19,743 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.4% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after purchasing an additional 57,583 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 102,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 579,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,035,000 after purchasing an additional 18,346 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.76. 3,836,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,533,330. The company has a market capitalization of $171.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average of $41.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.40 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).