Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 1,531,435 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,319,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,531,435 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.4% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.84% of Verizon Communications worth $1,602,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).

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