Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 10,300 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the third quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 105,553 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,740,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 205,847 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,245,000 after purchasing an additional 17,852 shares during the period. Eagle Ridge Investment Management boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the third quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 651,017 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,237,000 after purchasing an additional 7,637 shares during the last quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 41,577 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 27,250 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.34 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $176.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).