Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,781 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,135 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $250,312,000. Third Point LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $173,325,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,825,000 after buying an additional 4,152,099 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $273,507,000 after buying an additional 3,481,936 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $536,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,247 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.08.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

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).