Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 16,192 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,011 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 16,192 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $2,106,000. Financial Avengers Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 69,076 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wilson & Boucher Capital Management LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 192,750 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,633,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Finally, Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,702 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.99. The company had a trading volume of 13,718,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,366,363. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business's 50 day moving average price is $42.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.85. The stock has a market cap of $176.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business'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 earned $1.22 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.46.

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).