Dakota Wealth Management Sells 20,033 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Dakota Wealth Management lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,034 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,033 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.04 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.00 and its 200 day moving average is $41.68. The firm has a market cap of $164.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. 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 research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).