Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 9,761 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,868 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,761 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 706,138 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,712,000 after acquiring an additional 157,442 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 89,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,013,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 50,376 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,262,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 25,699 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,154,000 after buying an additional 6,273 shares during the period. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 116,950 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,252,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications 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).