BBR Partners LLC Sells 283 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

BBR Partners LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,008 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 283 shares during the quarter. BBR Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during 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 period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.40 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $45.36. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.43.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio 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).