QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 630,139 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 205,341 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $27,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.25.

More Verizon Communications News

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals complete for Frontier acquisition — Verizon expects the transaction to close Jan. 20, bringing roughly 30 million fiber passings and enabling cross?selling of fiber and 5G services, which could materially expand growth runway and ARPU over time. GlobeNewswire: Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile wins Pentagon contract — headlines lifted ASTS shares and remind investors Verizon has partnerships with LEO satellite providers, which could support future wholesale or coverage initiatives, but the news is primarily a catalyst for ASTS rather than VZ. MarketBeat: Pentagon Deal Sends AST SpaceMobile Soaring
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread outage and $20 customer credits — a multi?hour nationwide outage tied to a software issue triggered customer complaints and scrutiny; Verizon is offering a $20 redeemable credit to affected users, which raises short?term costs and reputational risk and has prompted calls for mandatory refunds. This outage is the principal near?term negative driving sentiment. Investopedia: Why Verizon Customers Are Getting $20 Payouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price?target cut — Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed its VZ target from $46 to $44 and moved to Market Perform, signaling more cautious near?term expectations; the change tempers upside in the short term. TickerReport / Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cut

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $38.95 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.35 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.