Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Cape ANN Savings Bank

Cape ANN Savings Bank lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,341 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,680 shares during the period. Cape ANN Savings Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,312,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,325,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152,099 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $273,507,000 after acquiring an additional 3,481,936 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $536,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.15. The company has a market capitalization of $185.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).