Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. has reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 38.7%, owning 284,665 shares worth approximately $12.9 million after selling 179,701 shares.
• Despite Reaves' selloff, other institutional investors such as Northern Trust Corp and Capital Research Global Investors have increased their positions in Verizon, indicating mixed sentiment among investors.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 6.3%, and reported earnings of $1.22 per share, beating analyst expectations.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 284,665 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 179,701 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $402,000. Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $650,000. Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,001 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares during the period. Finally, U S Wealth Group LLC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8%

VZ stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.35. 17,800,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,145,494. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $42.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).