Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by MADDEN SECURITIES Corp

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $40.52. 13,034,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,917,785. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

About Verizon Communications

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).