Everett Harris & Co. CA Sells 22,293 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Everett Harris & Co. CA reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 552,288 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 22,293 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second 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 during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.43.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $39.80 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.25 and a 200 day moving average of $41.55. The stock has a market cap of $167.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.