Adirondack Trust Co. Sells 8,169 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Adirondack Trust Co. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,188 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,169 shares during the quarter. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $185.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.44 and its 200-day moving average is $41.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.62 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).