Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 57,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,686 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $177.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.46 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.42%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James increased their target price 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).