Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 387,063 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,505 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 958,130 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $43,030,000 after acquiring an additional 61,500 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the third quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 37,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 126.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,057,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $47,489,000 after buying an additional 589,994 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 114,083 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,118,000 after buying an additional 3,673 shares during the period. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,495 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 2,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.10. 669,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,524,555. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.84 and a twelve 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company 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).