Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Tucker Asset Management LLC

Tucker Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,167 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 796 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.67. 10,480,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,693,011. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.87.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).