Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 49,396 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 349,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 49,396 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after buying an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 973,547 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $40,149,000 after buying an additional 53,929 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after buying an additional 58,657 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Group LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 242,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,895,000 after buying an additional 11,845 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

VZ stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.99. 13,058,370 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,416,428. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.26 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.29. The company has a market capitalization of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.31.

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).