Old Port Advisors Sells 318 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Old Port Advisors cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,946 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 318 shares during the quarter. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $44,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $169.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.84. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.56 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.51.

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).