Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 273,650 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 22,504 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after purchasing an additional 57,583 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.03 and a 200-day moving average of $41.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $163.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.97%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

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).