Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,500 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Granite Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.78. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be 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 6.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

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).