Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Position Lessened by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,022,033 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 49,586 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 2.2% of Unigestion Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $45,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.46.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.00. The stock had a trading volume of 13,981,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,388,920. The business's 50-day moving average price is $42.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.85. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two 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 company has a market cap of $176.78 billion, a P/E 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 results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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