Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,021 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during 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 acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ remained flat at $40.24 during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 30,390,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,665,822. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $169.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

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).