Private Management Group Inc. Sells 138,980 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 983,839 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 138,980 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.6% of Private Management Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Private Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $44,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.36. The stock had a trading volume of 16,682,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,606,289. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $174.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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).