Financial Advisors Network Inc. Sells 437 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Financial Advisors Network Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,984 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Financial Advisors Network Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.68 and its 200-day moving average is $42.98. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.35.

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).