Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC

Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,677 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,629 shares during the quarter. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VZ opened at $38.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm 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 firm posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).