Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Pacific Sage Partners LLC

Pacific Sage Partners LLC decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,256 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Pacific Sage Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.1 %

VZ stock opened at $42.13 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $34.67 and a one year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.16 and a 200-day moving average of $41.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).