Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,302 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,377 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $42.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $178.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.44. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.81.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).