Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 728 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% during the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 73,592 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,970 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,759 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 27,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 19,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.06 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.40 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $172.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

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).