Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Sells 2,056 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,056 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.31 and a 200-day moving average of $42.84. The company has a market cap of $167.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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).