Bowman & Co S.C. Sells 2,224 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bowman & Co S.C. lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,414 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,224 shares during the quarter. Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America upped 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. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $38.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.03 and its 200-day moving average is $41.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $163.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.97%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 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).