Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 2,704 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,943 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,704 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.75. 11,818,717 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,871,514. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $171.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.51.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).