Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Cut by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 756,685 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 43,910 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.0% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $33,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.38. 19,717,360 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,607,941. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.34 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).