1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,718 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 639 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.9% of 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.28 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.67 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $173.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.14 and its 200-day moving average is $41.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.57%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 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 report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).