Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Reduced by GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management drastically reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 97.9%, leaving it with just 645 shares after selling over 30,000 shares during the first quarter.
• Verizon recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.22 and revenue of $34.5 billion, surpassing analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, which translates to an annualized yield of 6.2% with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 97.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 645 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 30,407 shares during the quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.52. 10,580,268 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,830,672. The firm has a market cap of $183.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. 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's fifty day moving average price is $42.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.91.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).