Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,727 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.08 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $168.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

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).