Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,588 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,242 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $302,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,263,848 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $56,759,000 after purchasing an additional 40,237 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,392,000. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 1,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.51.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).