Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Waverton Investment Management Ltd

Waverton Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,553 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $170.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.41 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).