Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Courier Capital LLC

Courier Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,991 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after buying an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after buying an additional 57,583 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.78.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

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).