Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Decreased by Garner Asset Management Corp

Garner Asset Management Corp trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,207 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,338 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 2.4% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $181.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.90 and its 200 day moving average is $41.55. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).