Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Sells 551 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,215 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.44.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.64 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $171.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).