Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Crescent Sterling Ltd.

Crescent Sterling Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,335 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.3% of Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after buying an additional 1,106,887 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after buying an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after buying an additional 104,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,127,360 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $541,372,000 after buying an additional 936,823 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $184.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications 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).