Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Cut by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,308 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $38.17 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.76. 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 results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).