Community Bank N.A. Has $9.41 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,520 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.2% of Community Bank N.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in 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. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

VZ opened at $44.34 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.70.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s 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).