Hennessy Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,200 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.40 on Friday, reaching $41.22. 9,593,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,787,832. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business 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 was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

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).