Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Trust Point Inc.

Trust Point Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,660 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,284 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during 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 during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.99. 2,909,768 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,366,205. The company has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.26 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.87 and a 200 day moving average of $41.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).