Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Reduced by Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,940 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 618 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,294,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,504,471. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.40 and a 12 month 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 $171.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 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 analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

About Verizon Communications

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).