Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 467 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6 %

VZ stock opened at $43.72 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $31.26 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.28. The firm has a market cap of $184.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

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).