Taylor Financial Group Inc. Has $766,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Taylor Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,881 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,336 shares during the quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.80. The stock has a market cap of $181.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).