Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by D.B. Root & Company LLC

D.B. Root & Company LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,876 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 14,090 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,951,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,491,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 136,584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after acquiring an additional 15,749 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.24. 27,639,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,795,164. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.04. The company has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

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).