Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,801 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.19. 3,259,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,494,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.67 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $173.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).