Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Lowered by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,323 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,152 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,345,439 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $53,804,000 after buying an additional 387,309 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $332,000. Apexium Financial LP lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 19,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 7,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,233 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.54 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.62. The company has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.43.

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).