Sanders Morris Harris LLC Sells 11,894 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Sanders Morris Harris LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.4%, selling 11,894 shares and holding 8,470 shares valued at $366,000.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, resulting in a 6.8% dividend yield for shareholders, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.
• Wall Street analysts have raised Verizon's target price, with notable upgrades from Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada, indicating an average target price of $47.63 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 58.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,470 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 11,894 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.81 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

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).

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