Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 223,419 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,463 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.24 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.92.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).