SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 52,758 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,210 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. One Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 34.9% during the second quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 11,346 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 2,937 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 94,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 19,333 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,968.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 453,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,705,000 after acquiring an additional 442,411 shares during the period. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Excalibur Management Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 100,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.76.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.07%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).