Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 449,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 7,931 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 128,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 5,651 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 15,987 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 4,014 shares during the period. True Link Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 47,643 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Management Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %

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

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).