Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Allworth Financial LP

Allworth Financial LP reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,978 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,730 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 2,228 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 25.7% in the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 45,418 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 9,295 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 32,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 22,292 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 37,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $33.34 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).