Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Investment Partners LTD.

Investment Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,552 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 933 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.42. 3,181,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,741,143. The company has a market cap of $174.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.77.

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).