Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Union Savings Bank

Union Savings Bank trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,963 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 890 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Ten 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 MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. 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 firm posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).