Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Lindbrook Capital LLC

Lindbrook Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,004 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,643 shares during the quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.11 and a 200-day moving average of $41.38. The stock has a market cap of $170.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.40 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James boosted 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).