LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Sells 6,588 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 96,840 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,588 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 544.2% during the second quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Founders Capital Management increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.2% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $33.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.74 and a 200-day moving average of $36.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $142.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.25 and a 52-week high of $42.58.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.87%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 52.20%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Company 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).