Prospect Financial Services LLC Sells 8,311 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Prospect Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,916 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,311 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.0% of Prospect Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 166,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,378,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,634 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC now owns 30,094 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.44.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.8 %

VZ stock opened at $40.64 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

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).