Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Ridgepath Capital Management LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ridgepath Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 43.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 160,789 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 124,740 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 4.0% of Ridgepath Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 74.6% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 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 VZ opened at $44.81 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.68 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.05.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on VZ

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

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