Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.19 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,673 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,054 shares during the quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 427,863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $17,110,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 56,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after buying an additional 5,463 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $1,922,000. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

VZ stock opened at $38.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.76. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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 return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.07%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 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).