Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Cut by Stonehearth Capital Management LLC

Stonehearth Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,216 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third 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. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $48,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.33. 13,266,460 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,205,307. The company has a market cap of $165.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.86. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.56 and a twelve 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.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. 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).