Disciplined Equity Management Inc. Sells 1,170 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 49,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.4% of Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

VZ stock opened at $43.00 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.22. The firm has a market cap of $181.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).