Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,815 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 52,824 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.0% of M Holdings Securities Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. M Holdings Securities Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

VZ stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.15. 17,017,421 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,570,672. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.53. The company has a market capitalization of $181.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during 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 revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 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).