Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,954 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,827 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,954 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 81,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,379,000 after acquiring an additional 7,656 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 53,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 866.9% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 155,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,405,000 after buying an additional 139,249 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7,577.3% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 629,619 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,953,000 after acquiring an additional 621,418 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.7 %

VZ stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,972,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,854,992. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.56 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of 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, Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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).