Ridgewood Investments LLC Has $1.11 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 31.0% during Q1, now holding 24,365 shares valued at approximately $1.11 million.
• Verizon Communications reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 5.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The recent quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share represents an annualized yield of 6.29%, with the dividend payout ratio at 63.17%.

Ridgewood Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,365 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 10,930 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,351,000 after buying an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,473,557,000 after buying an additional 990,775 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,418,052 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,096,447,000 after buying an additional 1,348,389 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.10 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.54. The stock has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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