PFG Investments LLC Sells 5,861 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

PFG Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,861 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.6% of PFG Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.43.

About Verizon Communications

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).