Centre Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Centre Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,221 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,851 shares during the quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. 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 target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.43. 2,968,887 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,527,965. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $170.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.56 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.61 and a 200 day moving average of $41.84.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

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).