ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 12,163 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 777,302 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,163 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $25,000. Avion Wealth raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 208.2% in the 2nd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 752 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 544.2% in the second quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 61.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $36.73 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $42.58. The stock has a market cap of $154.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.27 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 21.26% and a net margin of 15.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 6th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Citigroup upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 26th. Tigress Financial reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $64.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

About Verizon Communications

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).