STAR Financial Bank Has $359,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

STAR Financial Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,583 shares during the quarter. STAR Financial Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average of $41.50.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

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).