Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Lowered by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,890 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 36,783 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.86. 23,987,092 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,659,684. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $41.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.70. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Verizon Communications's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Verizon Communications 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).