17 Capital Partners LLC Sells 12,264 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• 17 Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 41%, selling 12,264 shares to hold 17,624 shares valued at $799,000.
• Verizon reported better-than-expected quarterly results with $1.22 EPS and revenue of $34.50 billion, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.1%.

17 Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 41.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,624 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,264 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of VZ opened at $44.24 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.68 and a 200 day moving average of $42.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).

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