Dakota Wealth Management Sells 20,033 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Dakota Wealth Management cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,034 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,033 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.04 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.68. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $164.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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 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 firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial boosted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.54.

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).