Neumann Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Neumann Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,519 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Neumann Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.84 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $172.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).