First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 4,672 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,480 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,672 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 626,256 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $28,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,275 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 99.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 41,719 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 20,773 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 120.9% during the third quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 35,380 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 19,365 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,046 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.99 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.26 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.31.

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).