Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Sells 38,342 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Koss Olinger Consulting LLC has reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 65.0%, selling 38,342 shares and now owning 20,620 shares worth approximately $935,000.
• Despite this reduction, several other institutional investors have increased their holdings in Verizon, with Bernard Wealth Management Corp. growing its stake by 81.0% during the same quarter.
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 6.3% and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 65.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,620 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 38,342 shares during the quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Crescent Sterling Ltd. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first 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 during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $181.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.83.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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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