First National Corp MA ADV Has $385,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First National Corp MA ADV decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,248 shares during the quarter. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,737,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,604,152. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.62 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.18. The stock has a market cap of $184.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).