Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Cut by Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 214,878 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,076 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its position in 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 buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).