Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Trimmed by Mattern Wealth Management LLC

Mattern Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,562 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 25,625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 37,110 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 59,309 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.44.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $40.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average of $41.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).