CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,845 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,326 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,571,000 after buying an additional 92,590 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 44.8% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 59.7% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 3,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 32,166 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 4,291 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 56,887 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year 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 $166.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

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).