Inlet Private Wealth LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Inlet Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,594 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.71. 4,386,459 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,410,143. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.99 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.81 and a 200-day moving average of $41.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $183.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

About Verizon Communications

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).