Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Country Club Bank

Country Club Bank cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,363 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 516 shares during the quarter. Country Club Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.7% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 45,418 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after buying an additional 9,295 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 32,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 22,292 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 37,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.38 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.34 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).