Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Cut by Cornerstone Planning Group LLC

Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,379 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $98,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 14.4% in the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $264,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 11,572 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.03 and its 200-day moving average is $41.41. The company has a market cap of $170.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.81 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.71%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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).