Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,317 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,262,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $85,295,000 after acquiring an additional 56,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 919,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,587,000 after acquiring an additional 21,132 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,175,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,539,160. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $181.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications 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).