Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 78,970 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200,135 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 78,970 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.9% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,262,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $85,295,000 after buying an additional 56,123 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.18. The stock had a trading volume of 14,537,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,762,088. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $185.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).