Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Reduced by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 68.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 242,389 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 520,080 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after buying 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 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. 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. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.86. 23,987,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,502,486. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.06 and its 200-day moving average is $41.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

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).