Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Grandview Asset Management LLC

Grandview Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,853 shares during the period. Grandview Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 6,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 48,058 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 3,676 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 9,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 30,787 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares during the period. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 165,633 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,624,000 after acquiring an additional 7,427 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.78. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.11%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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).