Community Bank of Raymore Sells 380 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Community Bank of Raymore trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Community Bank of Raymore’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.90 on Thursday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.26. The company has a market cap of $184.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).