Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Liberty Capital Management Inc.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,110 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Third Point LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ remained flat at $40.24 during mid-day trading on Friday. 30,390,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,665,822. The firm has a market cap of $169.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.92.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have 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 lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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).