Occidental Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,474 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.7% in the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 48,737 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 3,914 shares during the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.3% in the second quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,453 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,894 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 22.1% in the second quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.8% in the second quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 8,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $33.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.25 and a 12 month high of $42.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. This is a boost 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 7.93%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 52.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. HSBC lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Edward Jones downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.40.

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).