Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Sells 728 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during 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 period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.40 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $172.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

About Verizon Communications

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).