DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,118 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 895 shares during the period. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.91 and its 200 day moving average is $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).