Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. 626 Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $222,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the third quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 4,949 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the third quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 34,410 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 177,351 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after buying an additional 6,275 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $184.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

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).