Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,401 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,931 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.85 and a 200 day moving average of $41.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share 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 $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.29.

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).