PFG Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

PFG Investments LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 234,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,861 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 0.6% of PFG Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,571,000 after purchasing an additional 92,590 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 59.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 3,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 100,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 15,329 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.54 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The firm 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.62. 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 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Ten research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.43.

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).