XML Financial LLC Sells 12,268 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

XML Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 166,215 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,268 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSG Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank grew its position in Verizon Communications by 10.0% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 16,442 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 27,738 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 71,510 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $40.48 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.40 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $170.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

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).