Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Sells 6,740 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,740 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after buying an additional 1,106,887 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after buying an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after acquiring an additional 565,842 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.09. 19,699,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,749,570. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.29 and a 200 day moving average of $41.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).