Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 1,165 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,468 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,165 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $43.69. 11,034,183 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,380,078. The company has a market cap of $183.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $31.26 and a one year high of $45.36. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).