Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Lessened by Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,973 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,329 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after buying an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,262,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $85,295,000 after buying an additional 56,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 919,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,587,000 after acquiring an additional 21,132 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.13 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $185.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.678 dividend. 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 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).