Central Valley Advisors LLC Has $473,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Central Valley Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,536 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,128 shares during the quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.18. 14,537,280 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,762,088. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.28 and a 200 day moving average of $41.11. 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 company has a market cap of $185.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. 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 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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).