Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Lynch & Associates IN

Lynch & Associates IN lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 977 shares during the quarter. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 24,602 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 83,714 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 133,740 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 12,240 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,298,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,407,391. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.56 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.81.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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).