Windsor Advisory Group LLC Sells 715 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Windsor Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 715 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.7% of Windsor Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Windsor Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Kepos Capital LP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Steward Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Paladin Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Paladin Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. HSBC decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Edward Jones cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $33.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.88 and a 200 day moving average of $36.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.25 and a twelve month high of $42.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The firm had revenue of $32.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.86%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 53.20%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).