Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Keystone Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,758 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 3.0% of Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,204 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 85,182 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 23,182 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 31,833 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 5,265 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 632,214 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,282,000 after buying an additional 5,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $38.07. The stock had a trading volume of 12,547,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,671,273. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $160.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.80.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).