Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 24,754 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 24,754 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Thematics Asset Management purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $4,951,000. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 117,250 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 6,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $90,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of VZ traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.18. 14,537,280 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,762,088. The stock has a market cap of $185.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

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).