Liberty One Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197,927 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 9,704 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.9% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.86. 23,987,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,659,684. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).