Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,309 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 9,527 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 19,960 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Harrington Investments INC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 38,995 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,193 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. HSBC lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Edward Jones cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5 %

VZ stock opened at $34.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $143.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.25 and a 52 week high of $42.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $32.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.30 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 15.58%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 53.20%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).