McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Has $269,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,984 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.26 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.27.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

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).