Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Novare Capital Management LLC

Novare Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 429,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 13,135 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.6% of Novare Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Novare Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 74,875 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 81,863 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,086,000 after buying an additional 5,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.93. 23,144,565 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,380,723. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $40.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.51. The company has a market cap of $180.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Verizon Communications 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).