Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,671 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 444,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,330,000 after buying an additional 39,870 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.6% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 48,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,990,000 after buying an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 679,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $28,020,000 after buying an additional 56,534 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 16,246.1% in the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 93,990 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,876,000 after purchasing an additional 93,415 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 14.5% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,857 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $38.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $163.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.69. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. 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. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).