Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. has reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 3.5%, selling 59,769 shares, and now holds approximately $74.9 million worth of the stock.
• Verizon reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.19, with revenue climbing 5.2% year-over-year to $34.5 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share with a yield of 6.35%, to be paid on August 1st.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,651,143 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 59,769 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.6% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $74,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $42.65. 13,276,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,105,686. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $179.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50 day moving average price is $42.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.59.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).