Dearborn Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 918,687 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 14,772 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.66. 12,441,228 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,555,561. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.93 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $175.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 6.51%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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).