Wallace Advisory Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wallace Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,727 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.18. 14,537,280 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,762,088. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.11.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).