Fulton Bank N.A. Sells 11,100 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fulton Bank N.A. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,522 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,100 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after buying an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $92,445,000 after buying an additional 57,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

VZ traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.76. 11,465,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,372,945. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.56 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.99%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

About Verizon Communications

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).