Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,178 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,737 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,178 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.0% of Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.5% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 162,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,698,000 after acquiring an additional 69,328 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 23,122 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 128,936 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 120,574 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,972,000 after purchasing an additional 7,809 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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 assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $38.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $163.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.96%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

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).