Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Trims Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,686 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of VZ opened at $42.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications 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).