Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 918,687 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,772 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.87 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.84 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

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).